2020 In Review: Top 10 Feature Stories
12/28/2020
From Ellis McKinnie's amazing story during the COVID pandemic to Maryland student-athletes making stands for Racial Justice to some Maryland Love Connections sure to touch the heart … Take a look back at umterps.com's Top 10 Feature Stories of 2020 in our special Year In Review series.
#1 - In His Own Words: Ellis McKennie
April 24, 2020
Our country and our world have come to a screeching halt due to a pandemic that took us all by surprise. Millions of Americans have powerful stories about how the coronavirus has affected their lives. No single story is more difficult or significant than another. But as stories can act as signals of fear and anxiety, others can give hope and optimism in a world that so desperately needs it. That is my goal here; to share a story of successfully overcoming this virus as a family and as a community. Additionally, individuals fighting as hard as we could to continue our lives in the process.
My name is Ellis McKennie, and this is my coronavirus story.
#2 - In Her Own Words: Nikki Sliwak
May 15, 2020
To all the girls and boys who need to hear this, it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to have a bad day. It’s okay to feel like doing nothing every once in a while. It’s okay to feel like you need to cry. It’s okay to need to step away and take a break from your sport. It is okay.
My name is Nikki Sliwak and I am a senior on the women’s lacrosse team. I am a student-athlete who suffers from depression and anxiety. And that is okay. Most people would not know that about me, and that’s the point. Everyone has a story to tell behind their smiles. Here is mine.
#3 - Maryland Love Connection: Caleb Rowe & Sarah Molina
December 4, 2020
For Caleb Rowe and Sarah Molina, College Park and Maryland Athletics helped shape and mold their relationships, going from two student-athletes to a married couple and expecting a child together.
Rowe, a former Maryland quarterback, and Molina, a former Terps women’s soccer midfielder, came to the University of Maryland in 2012, both from out-of-state and with two very different backgrounds. Rowe grew up in Landrum, South Carolina, and Molina hailed from Rocky River, Ohio.
If you ask both of them when they met, they each give very different stories.
#4 - Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
June 5, 2020
Black. Lives. Matter.
Three words that have sparked a national debate over a relatively simple concept: The lives of Black people in America matter. And before you click away, I want you to ask yourself why? Are you uncomfortable? Good. Get comfortable being uncomfortable, because the days of catering to societal comfort are over. The time for change is now.
#5 - In Their Own Words: Anthony Cowan Jr.
April 10, 2020
Over the course of an unbelievable four-year career, Anthony Cowan Jr. pieced together an endless array of moments that will not soon be forgotten. As we bid farewell to Cowan, here is a list of moments over the course of Cowan’s career from the people that knew him best.
#6 - Maryland Love Connection: Brandon & Madison Lowe
September 4, 2020
“Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too,” - Yogi Berra.
For Brandon and Madison Lowe, those two things: love and baseball (or softball) have molded their relationship and got them to where they are today, where they’ve gone from two student-athletes playing ball for Maryland to one of the MLB’s power couples, with Brandon starring for the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays and Madison running her own home-based bakery: Sweet and Lowe.
#7 - In His Own Words: Elliot Zoellner
April 3, 2020
Coming into my senior season, the only thought I had was to leave it all out on the field, as it could’ve been my last year ever playing the game I loved so much.
Baseball was my passion.
It was the sport I grew up playing.
It made me a better man and a better leader.
I wasn’t sure when the end of the road was going to be, but I knew I had to treasure it as long as I could. I never imagined my final season would be cut short the way it was, and now there’s just as much uncertainty as before.
#8 - Terp Ties Run Deep For Dino Tomlin
October 2, 2020
Football has been a part of Maryland wide receiver Dino Tomlin’s life, both on and off the field, since the day he was born, but it has never been more important than his family.
Tomlin is the son of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and the nephew of former Terp safety Ed Tomlin, who played on the 1988 and 1989 Terrapin teams.
“Football has always been a thing, but our family kind of just treats it as my dad's job,” Dino said. “I never really talked about football with my dad growing up. We'd watch it and I’d be around it more than the average person, but it wasn't necessarily everything.”
#9 - In Their Own Words: Maryland Football Stands For Racial Justice
October 23, 2020
For the opening game of the 2020 season, Maryland Football student-athletes will debut new name-plates on their jerseys, helmet stickers and warm-up shirts to make personal statements about the ongoing fight for racial justice. Each expression was chosen directly by Maryland student-athletes and reflects a department-wide commitment to racial justice.
Spencer Anderson, Brian Cobbs, Dontay Demus Jr., Darryl Jones, Joseph Petrino and Colton Spangler describe below what their expressions mean to them.
#10 - In Her Own Words: Ayana Akli
July 10, 2020
The past couple of weeks you all have been exposed to the reality of police brutality that has targeted the Black community for far too long. And while it may be hard for some of you to comprehend, this is just an everyday look into our everyday lives.
This is about a system of oppression and systemic racism which lies at the very foundation of this country’s origins. I went to a protest and a University of Maryland student who was speaking said that, “This country was built by me but not made for me.”
Let that sink in!
